It was Guru Purnima the day before yesterday and ideally a day for observing fasts or eating light but I did nothing special except for planning a less acid and mucous forming meal with only jeera used for tadka and mild spices (no chillies onion garlic). Here's what our lunch (Sprouted Chowli, Alu Palak, Salad and Roti) looked like:
Why it is recommended to eat light or fast on full moon and new moon days is because as the moon pulls on the waters of the oceans on earth, it is also said to cause a turbulance in the waters within our body. What most people notice is an imbalance in the acid contents in their bodies. Eating light on these days usually helps reduce metabolic rate, acidity and increases endurance. Some people live with a long list of foods to eat and ones to avoid on specific days of the moon but such a list is really only for the ignorant.
Growing up I do not remember a lot of restrictions being imposed on our diets. I also remember us never falling sick while eating food cooked at home. Something worth considering here is the way you cook, the food combinations, timing and portion size can make a great difference to your health. And so long as you provide your body a good variety of correctly cooked foods regularly, you can only enhance the intelligence of your body's cells and help it deal with all kinds of foods at all times.
Why it is recommended to eat light or fast on full moon and new moon days is because as the moon pulls on the waters of the oceans on earth, it is also said to cause a turbulance in the waters within our body. What most people notice is an imbalance in the acid contents in their bodies. Eating light on these days usually helps reduce metabolic rate, acidity and increases endurance. Some people live with a long list of foods to eat and ones to avoid on specific days of the moon but such a list is really only for the ignorant.
Growing up I do not remember a lot of restrictions being imposed on our diets. I also remember us never falling sick while eating food cooked at home. Something worth considering here is the way you cook, the food combinations, timing and portion size can make a great difference to your health. And so long as you provide your body a good variety of correctly cooked foods regularly, you can only enhance the intelligence of your body's cells and help it deal with all kinds of foods at all times.
Guru Purnima, also known as Vyās Purnima after Maharishi Ved Vyās, one of the characters of the epic Mahabharata, Vyasa literally means compiler, he is hence called "the one who classified the Vedas".
The word ‘Guru’ is elaborated as ‘Gu’ means ‘darkness’ and ‘Ru’ means ‘remover’ hence ‘Guru’ means ‘dispeller of darkness’. So Guru is the one who removes the darkness of ignorance and leads the disciple towards the path of enlightenment.
The Bhagwat Geeta (one of the Vedas) translates as The Song of the Bhagavan. Sanskrit is a very scientific language and every sound in Sanskrit is said to impart certain energy and have certain meanings. The vocabulary consists of fewer words and expressions which often makes it seem confusing for the user of other languages. Now the cause of this confusion is not due to a limitation within the language of Sanskrit but the expectations of the so called educated mind that associates brilliance with complexity.
As a child, I was told, there is no such thing as god. I almost believed it and now I think otherwise. I do believe there is a God or power or supreme energy or lord that is above us, now I just don’t know what to call it or call him or call her whatever. In Sanskrit they call it Kŕsņā consciousness which if you were to translate to English it simply means the dark consciousness that pervades the entire body or universe or you could say the ignored darkness that fills the entire body or entire universe. That which we can not percieve with our five senses. According to Srila Prabhupada (a prominent Guru who wrote the particular translation of the Geeta I am reading ) Krishna or Kŕsņā means all attractive. And here is how he explains it:
Yes. The Supreme has no name, but by His qualities we give Him names. If a man is very beautiful, we call him 'beautiful.' If a man is very intelligent, we call him 'wise.' So the name is given according to the quality. Because the Supreme is all-attractive, the name Krishna can be applied only to Him. Krishna means 'all-attractive.' It includes everything. The name Krishna means 'all-attractive.' God or the Supreme attracts everyone; that is the definition.
That is the beauty of Sanskrit, one word may have many meanings but that is usually to simplify the written word and encourage the reader to think and connect the meaning of the sounds to words rather than blindly absorb information.
So, I don't mind calling the supreme Krsna but I am also ok with people who do not wish to use a name and if at some point in time I don't, it is not because my belief is wavering, it just means I am at a lower level of consciousness and trying to move to a higher state than my current level where my mind can accept the words my mouth speaks because according to the essence of the Geeta:
So, I don't mind calling the supreme Krsna but I am also ok with people who do not wish to use a name and if at some point in time I don't, it is not because my belief is wavering, it just means I am at a lower level of consciousness and trying to move to a higher state than my current level where my mind can accept the words my mouth speaks because according to the essence of the Geeta:
Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. And to realize the Supreme Lord is a state of being when you are free from attachment and detachment (I am nowhere near but moving towards it).
Motherhood is what makes me more religious I guess. Every once in a while I am faced with new levels of a darkness within me. Since you were born, its like my ears have become extra sensitive to the noise of your crying. When you were still a baby, it was easier for me to not let you cry so I could protect my sanity but now that you are a full fledged toddler, no matter how hard I try, there has got to be atleast one such episode in which you just decide to scream at the top of your lungs and I am left to helplessly listen to the seemingly distressful sounds which seem to break open my eardrums while I know there is nothing I could have done differently and yet I can't make any sense of it nor know how I should feel.
Once I have managed to silence you, by picking you up in my arms or feeding you, the crazy howling turns to a quite rhythmic cuddling and gurgling (its the sound of you blabbering to yourself, the stillness that follows is pure bliss, my eardrums still vibrate from the tiniest of noises but I hit upon a new piece of knowledge burried somewhere down in my subconscious mind. I guess that is also how life begins, that is probably how the universe started if I understood what I read correctly. From nothingness Prakriti becomes active in the presense of Purusha and gives rise to Mahad which I percieve as the mind intelligence and ego (these are the only three things that I can percieve inside me when you are screaming, I try to analyze the situation and my feelings, that is what is Sattva Rajas and Tamas, Mann Budhi Ahamkara.
The Tanmatra Shabd creates soundless sounds (of your crying) which make me conscious of the Ether element formed or existing in my ears, the Tanmatra Sparsha makes Air appear from Ether and causes friction which activates the tanmatra Roopa giving Fire a form and I am able to see. From the fire which burns out, Water comes to activate Tanmatra Rasa (yes I am thirsty by now because you are feeding) followed by gandh tanmatra which makes percieving the earthy smells possible (the more I delay drinking water, the stronger my sense of smell gets). Slowly I have come back to my senses and realized that my job as your caretaker is probably the best form of meditation to attain Yoga. So when I find time (if I do), I read some quote from the Bhagwat Geeta and smile to myself. If this is not God or the Supreme power, I don't know what is.
The important thing is to realize is that the purpose of this life is to attain knowledge and true knowledge (or Yoga or union) is only realized through service or Karma Yog. And this universe is a university wherein the supreme teacher is eager to help us learn if we just open our eyes and intelligence to him.
Here's what the Geeta has to say in the second chapter verse 47 and 48.
karmaņyevādhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi
sańgaḿ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā
samatvaḿ yoga ucyate
We also went to the Gurudwara yesterday to celebrate Guru Purnima in the evening, mostly because I hoped to introduce you to our culture and develop faith. Gurudwara means the door through which you can access the guru and his teachings. We also went to the church, just played in the Veranda but did not enter inside. You will notice how these places use the same concept of noise (in the form of devotional songs) to instill religiousness. I never sing praises of the lord nor try to exhibit my religiosity through any other means like dressing in a particular way, yet I know I am religious. I do chant mantras some times and they have their own significance which I will talk of some other day. And as I finish this post, you are also chanting some of your own mantras which mean nothing to my consciousness but I can see this blabbering helps you stay calm and at peace with your very young and wise little mind.
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